Even though I knew this post would eventually have to be written, I was not excited about having to do it after that game we saw on Sunday. Granted, we're Seattle sports fans so we fully expect to have gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, stomach punch losses, but seriously, was that necessary? And yet, that very situation was brought up by I think Softy earlier in the week. If there's 2 minutes left, would you rather be down 4 points with Russell having the ball, or up 4 points and put your defense out there? Well, we got both and saw the results. We went from exhuberant jubiliation to stunned dejection in the span of 35 seconds. And now we get the news that Gus Bradley has gone to NFL purgatory, aka Jacksonville. While I'm sad to see him go, on the plus side he'll be available again in couple years the way that franchise goes through coaches. Can't be a talent/front office problem. No, no. They've just had bad luck with coaches, right? In any case, let's see if we can have a little fun and wrap up the year through the shenanigans at Bushwood Country Club.

Have we all recovered? Everyone somewhat back to normal? Nobody would look down upon you if you weren't. After all, we witnessed something we hadn't seen since I was 5 years old. The ghosts of Jim Zorn and Steve Largent were brought back and descended squarely upon the painted dirt of FedEx Field. To paraphrase the great Dave Niehaus..."30 long years of frustration is over!!!". The Hawks on Sunday did something that we had never seen with Matt Hasselbeck, Dave Krieg, Warren Moon, or Jon Kitna. They never did it with Dennis Erickson, Tom Flores, or Mike Holmgren. They went on the road and won a playoff game. They did it while spotting the Redskins a 14 point lead. If the Hawks hadn't taken years off my life before, they certainly did it on Sunday. And it felt incredible. Now, it's off to the dirty, dirty south. It's off to visit Matty Ice (who has the dumbest nickname since he's never won a playoff game) and the Falcons in the Dome. Let's get jacked up and preview through the tomfoolery of south central LA in Friday.

Ok, quick show of hands before we get started. How many of you were clenched pretty tight on Sunday as the Seahawks kept letting the Rams hang around? As Teddy KGB would say, they had alligator blood...can't get rid of them. But, as they've done the 7 previous times at home this year, the Seahawks put the Rams away and finished the season undefeated at home. The last time that happened was 2005. Something big happened that year, didn't it? There are few things more fun than having a year of tailgates where we don't hang our heads on the long walk back to Hawk Alley. Instead, the walk back is full of high fives, honking horns, and general revelry. As many of you who are down there with us know, it's a big investment in time, money, and energy to put Hawk Alley together each week and the return on investment this year has been off the charts. Those of you who have joined us down there have helped make it the most fun we've had since we started. Now, time to get down to business. The Hawks are back in the playoffs and are a very chic pick to make it to the Super Bowl. Each journey begins with a single step and this one starts in Landover, Maryland. What does Maryland do best? Crab cakes and football! Let's look at the game through the prism of Wedding Crashers.

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